Knight
by aweis09
Summary: My version of Bruce Wayne coming to Smallville. He is dong business with Lex but he has an alterior motive.
1. Chapter 1

Knight

Chapter 1

This is my first fan fiction so take it easy. Bruce comes to Smallville to do business with Lex but has other reasons for being there. Much of the action takes place in Metropolis. Bruce and Clark don't like each other at first but grow closer as it progresses. Milton Fine isn't in this story but the story does serve to turn Clark more against Lex. It takes place where Aqua would have. Also I borrowed a few things from Batman Begins but my Bruce Wayne's story is very different.

Clark didn't like going dancing. In fact he hated it. The only reason he had gone on this particular night is that Lana had wanted to go with Chloe and Lois. They had gone to Atlantis of all places to top it off. It brought back a lot of bad memories from his fateful summer spent in Metropolis. Lucky for him there weren't any employees working that night who would have remembered him.

Currently he was sitting at a table taking a break. For all of his gifts he was not a natural dancer. He watched the girls dance now instead. They danced with each other mostly, occasionally Lois or Chloe would find a random guy buy Lana obviously didn't. He smiled at her. The relationship was going well, but now that he had his powers back he knew that it was in trouble. With Jor-El's threat weighing on him it was hard for him to enjoy anything really. Lana smiled at him and pulled away from her friends. Clark smiled back. When she got to him she leaned in for a kiss, and he reciprocated.

"Having fun," Lana said with a chuckle.

"A blast," Clark replied sarcastically, and yelling to be heard over the music.

"We can leave if you want," she said having a seat on his lap.

"No stay, have fun, I don't mind watching."

Lana smiled that beautiful smile and returned to the dance floor. Clark couldn't help but feel good. Nothing mad him happier than seeing her happy, and she was. He just hoped he could keep it that way.

As Chloe danced she looked over at Clark. She felt bad for him. Land had dragged him to this and she could tell he was miserable. It had been her idea to come to Atlantis and she was regretting it. She just had had so much fun during her time in Metropolis. Seeing Clark and Lana together had been surprisingly easy for her. She had realized long ago that Clark would never harbor the same feelings for her that he did for Lana. It was just a fact of life. Chloe was now just happy to see the two of them together and past all the drama. Besides, she had more important things to worry about at this point, and she could still claim that she was the only one of Clark's friends that knew his secret. Chloe's thought were interrupted by a someone who crossed her vision. He couldn't have been much older than her she deduced but he looked worn. He was also incredibly handsome. A rugged handsome buy handsome none the less. Who was this guy. She had stopped dancing and had made her way towards the bar.

"Yo, Chloe, hellooo," Lois questioned, "What's her deal," Lois asked Lana.

Lana could only shrug in return.

Chloe couldn't take her eyes off this tall, and mysterious looking guy. He looked incredibly familiar to her. He wore a worn leather jacket and jeans. She could tell he was asking the bartender questions but couldn't hear what it was about. As she neared the bar she got bumped by someone and fell.

"Watch it bitch," said the guy.

Clark was there instantly.

"Take it easy buddy," Clark said helping Chloe to her feet, "Are you all right," Clark asked but received no answer.

Chloe was still mesmerized by the dark stranger. Then she realized he was gone, as quickly as she'd spotted him he had vanished.

"Did you see that guy?"

"What guy," Clark asked curiously.

"That guy, at the bar, he was tall, wearing a leather jacket," Chloe described in desperation.

"Sorry," Clark answered, " Are you sure you saw someone?"

"I'm positive, but he just vanished."

"Is everything okay," asked Lois as she and Lana approached.

"Fine, Chloe's looking for a guy," Clark said smiling.

"Is that a fact," said Lois snidely.

"He was…amazing, I know I've seen him before, I just don't know where."

"I believe you Chloe," said Lana trying to be supportive.

"Thank you Lana," said Chloe returning to her senses, "Oh well, are you guys ready, I'm tired."

"Yeah I'm ready, and I know Clark's ready," said Lana.

"You guys are no fun, hey let's go to this party I heard about at Met U. I need to work on my beer pong game. I'm a little rusty," said Lois hopefully.

They all just stared at her blankly.

"Fine, lets just go home," she conceded.

"I'm just gonna use the restroom, I'll meet you guys outside."

"One too many diet cokes huh Clark," Lois jabbed.

Clark didn't even respond. He was so used to Lois' verbal barbs they just bounced off him like bullets did. They girls made their way through the thick crowd to the front. It was 2:30 and they all felt like they'd been in the club for a year. The cold fall air hit them all at once.

"Jesus, it's colder than I remember it being when we went in," said Lois pulling her jacket tighter.

"That's because it is," Chloe replied evenly.

They moved away from the building closer to an alley for more warmth. Back inside the line for the restroom was taking a frustratingly long time for Clark.

"What is the hold up in their," Lois growled.

The trio then all turned at once at a noise behind them. Suddenly a man appeared out of the shadows. He looked dirty and had a menacing grin on his face.

"Hey ladies, have a fun night?"

"Back off buddy, you don't know who you're dealing with," said Lois as tough as she could.

"Whoa relax," he said inching closer, "We just wanna talk."

"Well I don't like talking to crack heads, wait, did you say we?"

They turned to see that two more thugs had appeared behind them. They mad a move to run, but they pulled out guns. A fourth and fifth now appeared to their left.

"Oh shit," said Chloe to herself.

"I don't like being called a crack head," said the man angrily, and now wielding an knife, "You girls are gonna have to make amends."

The men all moved in around the girls who were ready to fight back when, seemingly out of no where, something dropped down from above. In a flash the tow holding guns were down, in the fray all three girls were knocked to the ground. The other three were down moments later. Chloe tried to take in what was going on around her. At first she thought it was Clark but soon realized it wasn't. She surveyed the scene before her. All five of the thugs were unconscious, laying in heaps around her. Whoever that was had moved fast and had completely vanished.

"What… the hell… was that," Lois asked astonished.

"I have know idea," returned Lana just as amazed.

" He just took them out, before they could even move, I've never seen anything like it," said Chloe, who then reconsidered her last statement when she thought about Clark.

Clark exited the club and didn't see the girls. He was concerned immediately. Clark scanned the surrounding area and immediately spotted them around the corner form the club. He super speeded to the alley to find all of them standing and staring.

"A little late aren't you," said Lois.

"What happened," asked an very confused Clark.

"We aren't sure, these guys came after us, and they were about to go in for the kill when someone, well…" Lana trailed off.

"Just dropped out of no where and beat their asses," said Chloe indicating the unconscious men around them.

" Are you guys all right," Clark asked as he picked up foot steps in his super hearing.

"Yeah we're fine," said Lana.

"Okay well, you guys go back in the club and call the police, I'll be there in a sec."

"Just come inside Clark, it obviously isn't safe out here," urged Lana.

"I'll just be minute Lana, I promise."

"Just give him a sec, we'll go inside," said Chloe covering for Clark.

They went and Clark immediately super speeded up the ladder. The steps were now moving frantically across a nearby roof top. Clark followed it until he spotted the man. He was running to the edge of the roof, suddenly he stopped and gazed out. Clark leapt the short distance to the next roof, and the man immediately turned around.

"Why are you following me," he asked in a slightly annoyed voice.

"You saved my friends, I just wanna know who you are."

"Look, I saw those guys going after them and thought it looked like they needed help. I don't want to have to deal with the cops and I don't want any recognition so just leave me alone."

Clark was becoming frustrated. This wasn't just an ordinary guy. He couldn't be. Clark moved closer.

"Just tell me who you are."

"I don't know how you found me or why you came out after me at all , but you are really starting to annoy me," he said angrily.

Clark grabbed they man instinctively, something about this person was really bothering Clark and he had to know who he was. The man tried to free himself from Clarks grasp but couldn't.

"I just want to know your name," said Clark.

"You're a strong one, Jesus," he said almost laughing, "Fine you want to know my name, it's Bruce Wayne."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Just a short chapter to update on what trasnpired after the end of chapter 1. Chapter 3 is coming very soon.

Clark sat awake in his loft. It was 10:30 the next morning. All three girls were asleep in the house, after the long night in the police station, but Clark couldn't sleep, he was still to distracted by his encounter with this mysterious Bruce Wayne character. Not only had he take out five armed thugs in a matter of seconds, and saved his girls, he had left the scene and wanted no part of any of it. He had no powers that Clark could see, and yet he had done some amazing things. Who was this man, where was he from, how did he do the things he'd done. Questions Clark desperately wanted the answer to.

He had let Bruce go after he'd given him his name and returned to the girls but he was regretting it now. Clark finally left his thoughts for the moment and headed into the house. The sweet aroma of a Martha Kent breakfast hit his nose.

"Hey sweety, rough night huh." she said with a smile.

"You have no idea."

"Chloe and Lana were like this when I got up," she said indicating the two sleeping girls on the couch.

"Yeah. Actually something happened last night," Clark said tentatively.

"Like what?"

"Well we went to this club to go dancing…"

"Whoa, you went dancing," Martha said trying to contain her laughter.

"Don't focus on the wrong part of the story," Clark said somewhat hurt.

"I'm sorry, it's just I've seen you dance before and…"

"Anyways, when we left I had to use the restroom, so they waited for me outside, but when I got outside they weren't there, and when I found them they were in an alley and there were a bunch of unconscious thugs around them."

"What happened?"

"Apparently they were coming after them when someone came out of nowhere and took out all five of them, and then just disappeared. But I went after him and he said his name was…"

"Hmmm, something smells good," said Lois loudly as she entered the room.

The other two girls stirred as well, rising from there slumber.

Martha offered Lois some orange juice.

"Thank you," said Lois taking a drink, "I assume Clark told you about our little adventure. We got to be pretty tight with the boys down at the twelfth precinct last night."

Clark rolled his eyes. Land and Chloe took seats next to him at the counter.

"I'm exhausted," said Chloe rubbing her eyes.

"Same here," agreed Lana.

"Well I've got to get to the Talon, so I'll see you kids later. There's plenty of food and you can stay as long as you'd like. Oh and Clark your father's out in the field, he said he need your help later," said Martha as she headed out the door.

"Well I'm going to take a shower because I feel disgusting," said Lois.

"Do you have to work today," asked Chloe.

"Yeah at two."

" I'll probably stop by then."

"Well I've got chores to do, so…" said Clark faintly.

"Yeah I'm gonna head home too, can you give me a ride," Lana asked Chloe.

"Sure."

"I'll call you later okay," she said giving Clark a peck on the cheek.


	3. Chapter 3

Knight

Chapter 1

Clark didn't like going dancing. In fact he hated it. The only reason he had gone on this particular night is that Lana had wanted to go with Chloe and Lois. They had gone to Atlantis of all places to top it off. It brought back a lot of bad memories from his fateful summer spent in Metropolis. Lucky for him there weren't any employees working that night who would have remembered him.

Currently he was sitting at a table taking a break. For all of his gifts he was not a natural dancer. He watched the girls dance now instead. They danced with each other mostly, occasionally Lois or Chloe would find a random guy buy Lana obviously didn't. He smiled at her. The relationship was going well, but now that he had his powers back he knew that it was in trouble. With Jor-El's threat weighing on him it was hard for him to enjoy anything really. Lana smiled at him and pulled away from her friends. Clark smiled back. When she got to him she leaned in for a kiss, and he reciprocated.

"Having fun," Lana said with a chuckle.

"A blast," Clark replied sarcastically, and yelling to be heard over the music.

"We can leave if you want," she said having a seat on his lap.

"No stay, have fun, I don't mind watching."

Lana smiled that beautiful smile and returned to the dance floor. Clark couldn't help but feel good. Nothing mad him happier than seeing her happy, and she was. He just hoped he could keep it that way.

As Chloe danced she looked over at Clark. She felt bad for him. Land had dragged him to this and she could tell he was miserable. It had been her idea to come to Atlantis and she was regretting it. She just had had so much fun during her time in Metropolis. Seeing Clark and Lana together had been surprisingly easy for her. She had realized long ago that Clark would never harbor the same feelings for her that he did for Lana. It was just a fact of life. Chloe was now just happy to see the two of them together and past all the drama. Besides, she had more important things to worry about at this point, and she could still claim that she was the only one of Clark's friends that knew his secret. Chloe's thought were interrupted by a someone who crossed her vision. He couldn't have been much older than her she deduced but he looked worn. He was also incredibly handsome. A rugged handsome buy handsome none the less. Who was this guy. She had stopped dancing and had made her way towards the bar.

"Yo, Chloe, hellooo," Lois questioned, "What's her deal," Lois asked lana.

Lana could only shrug in return.

Chloe couldn't take her eyes off this tall, and mysterious looking guy. He looked incredibly familiar to her. He wore a worn leather jacket and jeans. She could tell he was asking the bartender questions but couldn't hear what it was about. As she neared the bar she got bumped by someone and fell.

"Watch it bitch," said the guy.

Clark was there instantly.

"Take it easy buddy," Clark said helping Chloe to her feet,"Are you all right," Clark asked but received no answer.

Chloe was still mesmerized by the dark stranger. Then she realized he was gone, as quickly as she'd spotted him he had vanished.

"Did you see that guy?"

"What guy," Clark asked curiously.

"That guy, at the bar, he was tall, wearing a leather jacket," Chloe described in desperation.

"Sorry," Clark answered, " Are you sure you saw someone?"

"I'm positive, but he just vanished."

"Is everything okay," asked Lois as she and Lana approached.

"Fine, Chloe's looking for a guy," Clark said smiling.

"Is that a fact," said Lois snidely.

"He was…amazing, I know I've seen him before, I just don't know where."

"I believe you Chloe," said Lana trying to be supportive.

"Thank you Lana," said Chloe returning to her senses, "Oh well, are you guys ready, I'm tired."

"Yeah I'm ready, and I know Clark's ready," said Lana.

"You guys are no fun, hey let's go to this party I hear about at Met U. I need to work on my beer pong game. I'm a little rusty," said Lois hopefully.

They all just stared at her blankly.

"Fine, lets just go home," she conceded.

"I'm just gonna use the restroom, I'll meet you guys outside."

"One too many diet cokes huh Clark," Lois jabbed.

Clark didn't even respond. He was so used to Lois' verbal barbs they just bounced off him like bullets did. They girls made their way through the thick crowd to the front. It was 2:30 and they all felt like they'd been in the club for a year. The cold fall air hit them all at once.

"Jesus, it's colder than I remember it being when we went in," said Lois pulling her jacket tighter.

"That's because it is," Chloe replied evenly.

They moved away from the building closer to an alley for more warmth. Back inside the line for the restroom was taking a frustratingly long time for Clark.  
"What is the hold up in their," Lois growled.

The trio then all turned at once at a noise behind them. Suddenly a man appeared out of the shadows. He looked dirty and had a menacing grin on his face.

"Hey ladies, have a fun night?"

"Back off buddy, you don't know who you're dealing with," said Lois as tough as she could.

"Whoa relax," he said inching closer, "We just wanna talk."

"Well I don't like talking to crack heads, wait, did you say we?"

They turned to see that two more thugs had appeared behind them. They mad a move to run, but they pulled out guns. A fourth and fifth now appeared to their left.

"Oh shit," said Chloe to herself.

"I don't like being called a crack head," said the man angrily, and now wielding an knife, "You girls are gonna have to make amends."

The men all moved in around the girls who were ready to fight back when, seemingly out of no where, something dropped down from above. In a flash the tow holding guns were down, in the fray all three girls were knocked to the ground. The other three were down moments later. Chloe tried to take in what was going on around her. At first she thought it was Clark but soon realized it wasn't. She surveyed the scene before her. All five of the thugs were unconscious, laying in heaps around her. Whoever that was had moved fast and had completely vanished.

"What… the hell… was that," Lois asked astonished.

"I have know idea," returned Lana just as amazed.

" He just took them out, before they could even move, I've never seen anything like it," said Chloe, who then reconsidered her last statement when she thought about Clark.

Clark exited the club and didn't see the girls. He was concerned immediately. Clark scanned the surrounding area and immediately spotted them around the corner form the club. He super speeded to the alley to find all of them standing and staring.

"A little late aren't you," said Lois.

"What happened," asked an very confused Clark.

"We aren't sure, these crack heads came after us, and they were about to go in for the kill when someone, well…" Lana trailed off.

"Just dropped out of no where and beat their asses," said Chloe indicating the unconscious men around them.

" Are you guys all right," Clark asked as he picked up foot steps in his super hearing.

"Yeah we're fine," said Lana.

"Okay well, you guys go back in the club and call the police, I'll be there in a sec."

"Just come inside Clark, it obviously isn't safe out here," urged Lana.

"I'll just be minute Lana, I promise."

"Just give him a sec, we'll go inside," said Chloe covering for Clark.

They went and Clark immediately super speeded up the ladder. The steps were now moving frantically across a nearby roof top. Clark followed it until he spotted the man. He was running to the edge of the roof, suddenly he stopped and gazed out. Clark leapt the short distance to the next roof, and the man immediately turned around.

"Why are you following me," he asked in a slightly annoyed voice.

"You saved my friends, I just wanna know who you are."

"Look, I saw those guys going after them and thought it looked like they needed help. I don't want to have to deal with the cops and I don't want any recognition so just leave me alone."

Clark was becoming frustrated. This wasn't just an ordinary guy. He couldn't be. Clark moved closer.

"Just tell me who you are."

"I don't know how you found me or why you came out after me at all , but you are really starting to annoy me," he said angrily.

Clark grabbed they man instinctively, something about this person was really bothering Clark and he had to know who he was. The man tried to free himself from Clarks grasp but couldn't.

"I just want to know your name," said Clark.

"You're a strong one, Jesus," he said almost laughing, "Fine you want to know my name, it's Bruce Wayne."

Chapter 2

Clark sat awake in his loft. It was 10:30 the next morning. All three girls were asleep in the house, after the long night in the police station, but Clark couldn't sleep, he was still to distracted by his encounter with this mysterious Bruce Wayne character. Not only had he take out five armed thugs in a matter of seconds, and saved his girls, he had left the scene and wanted no part of any of it. He had no powers that Clark could see, and yet he had done some amazing things. Who was this man, where was he from, how did he do the things he'd done. Questions Clark desperately wanted the answer to.

He had let Bruce go after he'd given him his name and returned to the girls but he was regretting it now. Clark finally left his thoughts for the moment and headed into the house. The sweet aroma of a Martha Kent breakfast hit his nose.

"Hey sweety, rough night huh." she said with a smile.

"You have no idea."

"Chloe and Lana were like this when I got up," she said indicating the two sleeping girls on the couch.

"Yeah. Actually something happened last night," Clark said tentatively.

"Like what?"

"Well we went to this club to go dancing…"

"Whoa, you went dancing," Martha said trying to contain her laughter.

"Don't focus on the wrong part of the story," Clark said somewhat angered.

"I'm sorry, it's just I've seen you dance before and…"

"Anyways, when we left I had to use the restroom, so they waited for me outside, but when I got outside they weren't there, and when I found them they were in an alley and there were a bunch of unconscious thugs around them."

"What happened?"

"Apparently they were coming after them when someone came out of nowhere and took out all five of them, and then just disappeared. But I went after him and he said his name was…"

"Hmmm, something smells good," said Lois loudly as she entered the room.

The other two girls stirred as well, rising from there slumber.

Martha offered Lois some orange juice.

"Thank you," said Lois taking a drink, "I assume Clark told you about our little adventure. We got to be pretty tight with the boys down at the twelfth precinct last night."

Clark rolled his eyes. Land and Chloe took seats next to him at the counter.

"I'm exhausted," said Chloe rubbing her eyes.

"Same here," agreed Lana.

"Well I've got to get to the Talon, so I'll see you kids later. There's plenty of food and you can stay as long as you'd like. Oh and Clark your father's out in the field, he said he need your help later," said Martha as she headed out the door.

"Well I'm going to take a shower because I feel disgusting," said Lois.

"Do you have to work today," asked Chloe.

"Yeah at two."

" I'll probably stop by then."

"Well I've got chores to do, so…" said Clark faintly.

"Yeah I'm gonna head home too, can you give me a ride," Lana asked Chloe.

"Sure."

"I'll call you later okay," she said giving Clark a peck on the cheek.

Chapter 3

Here's chapter three. Read , review. Bruce meets the gang and we learn what the deal Bruce wants to strike with Lex. More action coming soon.

Bruce was tired. He was always tired, but he still worked himself to the brink, he didn't have a choice. He was on his thirtieth push up when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," he said rising.

A servant dressed in all black entered the room.

"Mr. Luthor would like to meet with you."

"Tell him I'll be down shortly."

Lex sat in his study. Currently he was viewing the security footage from the previous night, more specifically the lack of footage. The camera that viewed the area outside Bruce's bedroom had been disabled for a period of several hours the previous night. Lex didn't really trust Bruce and he knew Bruce didn't trust him. But you don't they way he saw it you didn't have to totally trust someone to do business with them. Wayne Enterprises was even more successful than Luthorcorp and they could be a valuable partner for the future. Plus he and Bruce had a great deal in common. Both had grown up with tremendous wealth, both were young and now at the head of major corporations.

Lex recalled a meeting they had when they were little. Lionel had taken Lex to a conference in Gotham City and ran into Thomas Wayne who was with Bruce. They were both eight years old, but the differences were obvious. Bruce was bold and fearless. The product of the fairly normal upbringing he'd had. Lex was shy and afraid. He'd always kept this encounter in his mind. Partly because it was a memorable experience but mostly because it drove him because he didn't want to be that scared little boy ever again.

Bruce entered the study, and took a seat.

"Late night," asked Lex.

"Not really." said Bruce casually.

"Uh-huh. Well Bruce I've been reviewing your proposal and I have to tell I'm not totally comfortable with it."

"What's the problem."

"Well quite frankly it's a little too, charitable, don't you think?"

"No. I mean yes it does have a certain philanthropical aspect to it, but we could also both stand to make a great deal of money in the long run, besides, you can't overlook the public relations value of a project like this, giving back to people of Metropolis. We've done this type of urban development before in Gotham and it's been very successful. Cheap affordable housing, cheap transportation. It helps the people, it helps the economy and eventually it will help you."

Lex smiled. He and Bruce were different. Bruce was a product of his father and Lex was a product of his. At first he'd thought the good guy act was just a ploy, but he was starting to realize that this wasn't an act. Bruce did genuinely want to help. Lex was starting to see how this type of compassion could be a weakness. He saw it in Bruce. Maybe they really had traded places since their last meeting.

"Come on Lex, what's the worst thing that could happen, the people of Metropolis actually thinking you're a good guy."

"I'll think about it. In the meantime there's some people I want you to meet."

"Come on Lex…"

"Just come with me, what's the worst thing that could happen."

Clark sat in Lana's apartment waiting for her to get ready. They were planning on spending the day together. He'd finished his chores in five minutes but had waited at his house so it wouldn't seem suspicious. That was one thing he like about his powers. What he didn't like was having to sit at his house for an hour so he could seem like a normal guy to Lana. His mind also kept wandering back to Bruce. How could one, ordinary man do what he'd done.

Chloe was also thinking about the previous night.. She sipped on her coffee as Lois waited on customers. She was trying to recall what had happened. Focus on the attack. More was coming back to her. She had definitely seen a male face and whoever he was, he definitely knew martial arts and he was fast. Not superhuman fast, but fast. The whole event was just so blurry. It frustrated her.

"Hey, cuz, you want some more coffee," asked Lois.

"Huh, yeah, sure."

"Are you okay, you've been very out of it since you got here."

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Thinking about last night," Lois asked.

"Affirmative. I just can't get it out of my head."

"I'm the same way. The whole thing was just so bizarre."

Chloe's attention was then drawn to the front door. Lex entered, but what caught here attention was the man with him. It was the guy from last night, at the club. 'What's he dong with Lex,' she thought.

Lex smiled as he notice Chloe and Lois. He led Bruce over to them.

"What a hotty," said Lois underneath her breath.

"Ladies, I want you to meet someone, this is Bruce Wayne, he's in town doing some business with me. Bruce this is Chole Sullivan and Lois Lane. Chloe is attending Met U, and Lois, well what exactly are you doing?"

"I'm still figuring that out," she said.

"Me too," said Bruce quickly.

"So Chloe, what are you majoring in?"

Chloe had to clear her thoughts before she could even answer. That's who it was. That's why she'd recognized him. She'd been fascinated with Bruce Wayne for a long time. A billionaire who for no discernable reason just disappears.

"Um, journalism."

"Um journalism, I'm not sure I'm familiar with that field," Bruce said chuckling.

"Sorry, journalism."

"Well if you ever need a job, my company owns several newspapers in and around Gotham City."

"I'll remember that," she said trying to contain her grin.

Lois also grinned, she could tell Chloe was attracted to this Wayne character.

Lana and Clark approached.

"Lex who's your friend," asked Clark before he could get a good look at his face.

"Oh Clark, this is Bruce Wayne, Bruce this is Clark Kent and Lana Lang."

The situation now dawned on both Bruce and Clark.

"Clark, it's nice to meet you," said Bruce gripping his hand extra firmly.

"Likewise," said Clark nodding.

Lana noticed the awkwardness immediately, as did Lex.

"Do you two know each other," Lex asked amused.

"Of course not," said Bruce quickly.

"Well we need to get going, I'll talk to you soon Clark."

And with that the two billionaires walked off. But not before Bruce gave Clark a warning look. The girls didn't know but this mystery had just grown a lot deeper.

"Do you guys realize who we just met," exclaimed Chloe.

"No," said Clark unimpressed.

"You don't know who Bruce Wayne is. He's like Lex Luthor times ten. He's the owner of Wayne Enterprises. It's like one of the most successful major corporations in the world. They're into everything."

"So you're saying he's loaded," asked Lois.

"Beyond loaded."

"And cute," Lana blurted.

"What," said Clark shooting her a look.

"I'm sorry, he is," she said shrugging her shoulders.

"There's more. This guy's only been in the country for like nine months. He disappeared when he was like ten and was gone for over eleven years. No one knows where he went."

"Weird," Lana and Lois said almost in unison.

"I don't like him," said Clark suddenly.

"You don't like anyone," said Lois cleaning off a table.

"Seriously, if he's as mysterious as you say he is then there's obviously a lot we don't know about him. Plus he's friends with Lex."

"You used to be friends with Lex," Chloe offered.

Clark didn't have response for that. He did. But Lex had endangered him and his family one to many time. He just couldn't trust him anymore. And now with this strange new visitor in town, it could only create more problems for him.

Chapter 4

Clark gazed out onto the lake. He and Lana had found a secluded part of the Crater Lake to have picnic.

"Hey, I'm here," said Lana trying to draw Clark's attention.

"Sorry, just thinking."

"This Bruce Wayne is really getting to you, I just don't get why."

"It's hard to explain. I guess he just reminds me a lot of Lex," Clark said withholding, " People like that are dangerous, they don't care about any thing except profit."

"He didn't seem that bad to me. A little gruff, but…"

"I know he's up to something, I just don't know what."

"You shouldn't let it bother you."

"Yeah, I know."

Lex poured the scotch slowly.

"You thirsty," Lex offered.

"No," returned Bruce evenly.

Lex sat and gazed across the desk at Bruce. His father had always wanted Wayne Enterprises. More than any other company. Mainly because they had been more successful, but also because of simple rivalry. Thomas Wayne wasn't crooked or dirty like Lionel and the two hadn't liked each other. Of this Lex was sure, and now he was beginning to see why.

"Do we have a deal," said Bruce finally.

"How well do you remember your parents?"

"What's that got to do with this," said Bruce growing more angry.

"Nothing, I'm just curious. Their demise was so tragic, so sudden, so unfair."

"Not that well, it was a long time ago."

"Too bad, your father was a good man. Did a lot of great things in Gotham. To bad you weren't around to continue them. I heard your father nearly bankrupted Wayne Enterprises fighting poverty."

"Does this have a point Lex, because my patience is wearing a little thin."

"The point is Wayne Enterprises does business a little bit differently than Luthorcorp. I'm sorry Bruce but I'm afraid that there isn't a deal."

Bruce sighed and rose.

"I'm sorry to hear that Lex, we could have done some great things together."

Bruce turned to go to the door.

"Why'd you come here Bruce, you had to have known I wouldn't go for something like this," asked Lex.

"I thought maybe you'd changed, I was wrong."

Chloe scanned her computer. She'd been searching for information on Bruce all night, and still had no leads. Nothing was turning up on him. 'Maybe I could check on his parents,' she thought. She searched for Thomas and Martha. She'd read some things about them. They were both major philanthropists. She clicked on the first article that came up on the Gotham Globe's archives. As her eyes scanned the screen, she became more shocked.

"Oh my god," she said picking up the phone and dialing Clark's number.

"Hello."

"Clark, you need to get over here right away, I found something interesting about our new friend."

The couple walked slowly away from the theater. They didn't even hear the footsteps behind them. You Bruce looked knowingly at his father. He had gotten scared at the movie and forced his parents to leave. But they weren't angry. The simply smiled and did as their son wished. As they made there way to the train, the footsteps behind them became more audible. Bruce became scared again. His parents both turned. He could see the look of concern in his mother's eyes. The man drew his gun and came at his father, then shots rang out. Then silence, except for the bouncing pearls around him. Blood was spattered on his face. Bruce then saw his father looking up at him.

"You killed us."

Bruce came to in mid kick. The memories of his parents murder often came to him when he trained. It drove him. He looked at the door. A girl was silhouetted against the frame. She entered, he saw it was Lana, the girl he met earlier that day.

"Hi."

"Hi," Bruce returned, grabbing a towel and wiping his face.

"What's that," asked Lana indicating the necklace around Bruce's neck.

"This, it's a bat."

"Why a bat?"

"That's a good question, why a bat. What's a bat make you think of Lana."

"They're nasty. I'm actually kind of afraid of them."

"Exactly, this was given to me, a long time ago. You know in China the bat is a symbol of good luck, but here it is associated with fear. That's what I like about them. I can relate with being isolated."

Bruce put his shirt on and threw some of his things into a bag.

"Are you leaving," asked Lana.

"Yeah, my deal with Lex fell through, so there's no reason to stay here."

"That's a shame my friend Chloe is quite fascinated with you. I can't say I totally blame her. Young billionaire who disappears for twelve years only to mysteriously return with no evidence of where he's been"

"Everybody has secrets Lana. Some are just bigger than others."

"Where did you go?"

"All over," answered Bruce with a smile.

"What were you doing when I got here?"

"So many questions," Bruce eyed Lana for a moment, debating whether to answer, "Ju-Jit-Su. I like to stay in shape. Look Lana what are you doing here," Bruce asked finally.

"Clark doesn't trust you, I just wanted to see for myself."

"Well you've seen, what do you think?"

"Maybe Clark's wrong," said Lana as she turned and headed out the door.

Bruce smiled then picked up his phone.

"Alfred, meet me at the hotel in an hour, yeah, yeah, we're gonna give the suit a little test run."

Clark looked at the article in front of him in disbelief.

"He saw the whole thing," Clark finally asked.

"Uh-huh, he was nine," answered Chloe.

The headline read "Prominent Doctor and Wife Slain. Son survives, and is unharmed." The picture featured Bruce standing in a crowd of police and crime scene workers.

"Look at him. He isn't crying," noticed Clark.

"Yeah I noticed that. What do you think that does to a kid?"

"I think I have an idea. The other night at the club Bruce was the one who took down those guys, he saved you."

"So what you think he's on some quest sort of quest," asked Chloe skeptically.

"I don't know, maybe. It still doesn't explain the Jackie Chan impersonation the other night. I'm going to go pay him a visit."

"Clark…" before she could finish her sentence Clark was gone.

Moments later he arrived at Luthor Mansion, only to see Clark pulling away in a Black Mercedes. Clark debated and decided to follow him.

They ended up at the Ritz in Metropolis. Bruce exited the car and let the valet park it. Clark wondered why he'd left the mansion. He followed Bruce up to the top floor to the presidential sweet and watched him enter.

Alfred was sitting on in the chair by the window reading, when Bruce entered. A large black leather bag lay across the bed.

"Master Wayne," Alfred said looking up from his book.

"Thanks, I think I'm going to need it tonight."

"I hope you're prepared to pay a hospital bill, I think I threw out my back lugging that bloody thing from the airport."

"Sorry," Bruce said smiling and removing his shirt.

"It's 11:30, I've got an hour," noted Bruce sliding on the top part of the suit.

Clark stood down the hall from the room listening and was quite perplexed. What was this suit? What was happening in an hour, he'd just have to wait to find out.

Lex reviewed the file on Bruce Wayne. His investigators hadn't turned up much, but what they had was quite interesting. After his parents death he'd left Gotham with his loyal servant Alfred. He had spent time at every major center of education in Europe. The Sarbonne, The Berlin School of Science, Oxford were only a few. But he never spent more than four months at a time at any of them, before leaving and disappearing. They had found been able to turn up a plain flight into Tokyo but that was it. Who was this guy. Why had he come to Smallville. Lex would know.

Chapter 5

He waited, silently, in the shadows. Unmoving, like a ghost. Bruce had mastered the ability to blend with his surroundings and was finding it very useful in his mission. The night air blew across his face, but he remained still.

Several buildings away Clark watched, more than anything else out of curiosity. Why was Bruce sitting, on the top of the warehouse. Why were they a the pier. Even with Clark's vision he was having trouble seeing Bruce.

Below Bruce some activity started to develop. Bruce pulled out his mask, as simple rubber mask, to conceal his identity. Several vans pulled into the warehouse and men started to unload it. Bruce moved towards the ventilation shaft to his left and climbed in silently. Clark super-sped across the roof behind Bruce, unnoticed.

Bruce watched silently as the boxes were being transferred from these vans to the large black SUVs. He then pulled out and cocked is grapple gun and slid down to the catwalk below him. Clark watched from Bruce's previous location. There appeared to be some sort of deal going down. Several men watched as the boxes were being moved. Clark then scanned with his X-Ray vision and found Bruce. Clark decided to wait and see.

Freddie pulled several boxes off of the van and walked over to one of the trucks. He wasn't getting payed much for this job, but he needed the money. His attention was caught by a noise above him.

"Hey, Joey, did you hear that," he asked his partner.

"Hear what, you paranoid," returned Joey indignantly.

Suddenly something dropped down on top of them and brought their heads together, knocking them both unconscious, then disappeared.

"What the hell was that," said Bishop, another one of the workers.

All of the men drew their guns.

Bruce saw his opportunity. He dropped down into the crowd and immediately brought down two with several swift punches. The thugs were firing everywhere. Clark watched as the chaos unfolded. He couldn't take it anymore and super speeded into the warehouse. As Bruce spin kicked one, while holding the other, he saw Clark enter. Several shots were fired at him but the did nothing. Bruce was distracted for a moment and he took a shot to his side and fell over. Two thugs turned and saw him but he tripped on and kicked the other as he sprang back up. He then looked over at Clark, who was laying now, clearly in pain, but no wounded. Bruce also glanced over to see the main men he'd come for escaping. He also heard police sirens nearing the warehouse. Acting quickly he grabbed Clark, dropped and exploding gas ball to mask his escape and took out a fleeing thug.

"How much do you weigh," he asked Clark quickly.

"About 220," he answered faintly, barely able to speak.

"We'll be cutting it close," Bruce said shooting his grapple gun to the ceiling and rising quickly out of the fog.

As they sped to the roof, several police cars swarmed into the building. Clark was able to pull himself back up the shaft, as some of his strength had returned. They made it to the roof, and Bruce called Alfred.

"Alfred… yeah… meet me at the corner of Harbor and Eighth in ten minutes," Bruce then turned to Clark, "Are you okay?"

Clark rose slowly, and looked around.

"Yeah, I'm fine, what were you doing in there?"

"Trying to stop Lex Luthor. You shouldn't have come here, no matter what powers you have."

" I don't know what you're talking about," Clark said realizing what Bruce had seen.

"Sure you don't," said Bruce with a chuckle, "Come on, you and me need to have a little chat."

Chapter 6


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 6

Well I submitted a lot more of the story than I intended to (I only wanted to put up chapter 3 and I was also planning on putting in another chapter before the warehouse scene) but that's life. Bruce and Clark bond a little and Bruce also explains what Lex is up to. I invented a new character for this story so I hope that's okay. Also I wasn't planning on having any romance but now I am planning on having a little between both Lanes possibly.

"Clark Kent, this is Alfred Pennyworth," said Bruce as they entered the car.

"Pleasure to meet to Master Kent," said Alfred glancing into the backseat.

The ride back to the hotel was a silent one. Clark studied Bruce. He wore some kind of body armor suit, that he was now changing out of.

Alfred pulled up to the hotel and they all got out.

"Alfred me and Clark are gonna take a walk, don't wait up."

"Of course Master Wayne."

The two walked in silence for a few minutes before Clark finally spoke up.

"What did you mean you were stopping Lex?"

"There's a lot you don't know about your friend Lex, Clark…"

"He's not my friend," returned Clark quickly.

"Well whatever he is he's dangerous, in more ways than one."

"Who were those guys that got away, what were they moving?"

"The main one I was after until you decided to crash the party was Lawrence Edge. He was the brother of one of Metropolis' biggest crime lords…"

"I didn't know Morgan Edge had a brother?"

" You know who he is. Well, he's only been out of jail for a year and a half and since he got out he's taken over the family business. Anyways, those boxes were filled with refined versions of that crap that's all over Smallville."

Clark went wide eyed realizing why he'd collapsed back at the warehouse.

"Kryp… I mean meteor rock."

"Right. You see Luthorcorp has been excavating it secretly for a while now, even before Lex started running the show. But they don't refine it in Smallville, it's too dangerous. So they send it out to their other plants around Kansas. Then when they're done they ship it back in. That's where Edge comes in. You see Lex uses the mob in case anything goes wrong and the cops seize one of the shipments."

"So it can't be traced back to Luthorcorp," Clark added.

"Exactly. Had all gone as planned tonight, I would have left Edge at the scene for the cops to interrogate."

"How did you know about this?"

"I've been investigating Lex for months, I got turned onto this by a little incident at your farm actually. When I found out what Lex was doing on Level Three, I offered him a deal as an excuse to come here and stop him."

"All this time I thought you were just like Lex," Clark admitted.

"I'm nothing like Lex. But since I left my company has been into some pretty bad stuff too. I'm trying to clean it up but it isn't easy."

The two entered a park and started down a dimly lit concrete path.

"Bruce, I gotta ask, how, I mean where…" said Clark at a loss.

"What's my deal. I could ask you the same question," Bruce looked at Clark carefully, they had more in common than he had originally thought, " Okay I'll tell you what my deal is if you tell me how you can stop bullets and move faster than I can see."

" I know about your parents Bruce. I can't even imagine what that would have been like."

" You researched me did you?"

"Actually my friend Chloe did."

" The journalism major. Figures," Bruce sighed, " I didn't know my parents that well as people. But in that moment I knew the world. It was cold, lonely, and unforgiving and I had nothing that could make me feel any better. When my parents died I wasn't remorseful. I wasn't sad. I was angry. I got filled with this rage, I couldn't explain it. I was only nine, but I knew I had to leave. That I was meant for something beyond that night."

"Where did you go?"

"All over. I went to every school I could find. Learned all I wanted to learn. I studied the criminal mind. Tried to figure out what made them tick. I studied at every dojo I could find. I studied at monasteries, every where I could. Then I came back."

"I still don't understand. Why you."

"I'm still not sure myself. I just know I decided that night, that what happened to my parents would never happen again. I would make criminals be the ones who were afraid. And now with Gotham the way it is, my job is all that much clearer."

Clark was clearly taken aback by what he had heard. He'd met people with amazing abilities but never anyone like Bruce. Bruce had no powers but he'd made a choice to help, to make a difference. At the same time he saw so much darkness in Bruce. So much malevolence. It scared him a little bit. The talk of fear and of making criminals pay. This guy was a vigilante.

"Where did you get all that stuff, " Clark asked out of curiosity.

" My companies applied sciences division. The combat suit was developed for the military but it was to expensive, same with the utility harness, and all the other stuff. Now it's your turn Clark, where did you come from."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Clark said trying to be convincing.

"Clark I told you my story, now let's hear yours."

"Seriously…" Clark said desperately.

"Clark I'm not an idiot."

They took a seat and Clark sighed.

"Do you have a minute," Clark said finally.

"For you Clark, I've got five," said Clark with a smile.

"Did they get all of it," asked Lex trying to contain his anger.

"We don't know yet, but don't worry my guys wont talk. I'll talk to the cop I know tomorrow to make sure every things cool," said Edge reassuringly.

"Every thing better be cool, for your sake Lawrence. I'm the only thing keeping you from going back to C block," said Lex menacingly and hanging up the phone.

Losing these shipments was not good for a number of reasons. It created unwanted attention and it also cost him money. He was starting to discontinue his level three experiments but he still didn't like mishaps like this.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 7

"Professor Fine," Clark said approaching his teacher after class.

"Yes Clark," he said turning.

"What do you know about Wayne Enterprises?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Well you know so much about Luthorcorp, I was wondering if you knew anything about a similar company."

"Does this have anything to do with the CEO of Wayne Enterprises paying a visit to your hometown," asked Fine with a smile.

"Well, yeah, I've gotten to know him and…"

"You were wondering if he was the real article."

"Right."

"From what I gather Wayne Enterprises was very much the opposite of Luthorcorp until Thomas Wayne died. Then they started getting into heavy arms manufacturing, a lot more shady dealings. I don't know what the Wayne kid's motives are. From what I've read he seems to want to turn things around. He's no where near the tyrant that Lex is though."

Clark pulled up to his house an noticed a black Mercedes parked in front of his house. It was Bruce's car but he wondered why he was here.

Clark entered the house to find his mother, Bruce, and Lois seated at the dinner table chatting and laughing. Clark was taken aback by the scene before him.

Bruce noticed Clark first.

"Clark, we were just talking about you, Your mom here could have my job if she wanted to. She's a business wiz."

"What are you doing here," asked a perplexed Clark.

"Just getting to know your family, your dad's a great guy too, he had to go to the hardware store."

"Bruce was just telling us how you helped him out the other night," said Martha sheepishly.

"Was he," said Clark, in a slightly perturbed voice.

"He was also sharing some of his stories from his trips to Europe, it turns out we've been to a lot of the same places," said Lois.

"Indeed," said Bruce shooting Lois a grin.

She blushed.

"Bruce can I talk to you outside," said Clark motioning to the door.

They made their way to the driveway. Bruce shot Lois another flirtatious look on the way out.

"You know that Lois is smoking hot, and she also has some rockin' boobs. If things don't work out with Lana man I'd…"

"What are you doing?"

"Take it easy, I'm just mingling. You have a great family. You're mom's name is Martha."

"So. What are you doing here, I thought you were leaving," asked an exasperated Clark.

"Hardly, I didn't expose Lex's little project. I'm giving it another shot tomorrow night."

"But…"

"But what, I don't like quitting."

"Hey Bruce, would you like to stay for dinner, Mrs. Kent wanted me to ask," Lois said as she came onto the porch and smiling sweetly.

"Oh man I would but I actually have a dinner appointment with your cousin tonight. She's interviewing me."

"That's too bad," said Lois, disappointed.

"I'm a huge hit with your family Clark."

"Your having dinner with Chloe," asked Clark suspiciously.

"Yeah, I ran into her this morning in Metropolis. It's strictly professional. Besides she's too young."

"How do you do this?"

"Do what?"

"Go from completely depressing, brooding, and introverted to this bright ray of sunshine."

" It's a gift I guess and I've had plenty of practice since I returned," Bruce opened his car door, "By the way, did you know that Chloe knows your little secret, she mentioned your impressive speed when we met this morning."

" Yeah I know."

Clark watched Bruce drive off then went back to the kitchen.

"You scared him off, didn't you," asked Lois accusingly.

"I did not."

"Bruce, it's our duty as the more privileged to help those who haven't been as fortunate as us. Never forget that," said his mother knowingly, looking down at Bruce as she passed out more soup.

Bruce returned roused from his nap. Meeting Martha had brought back memories of his own mother who shared the same name. Lucius had been calling him non stop wanting to know when he would be returning. He'd sent Alfred back to Gotham to settle him down.

Bruce rose from the chair began training. His parents kept entering his thoughts, he saw flashes of their murder. Of them playing with him. It never ended.

A knock at his door interrupted his training. He opened it and Lex was there.

"Can I come in?"

"Sure."

Lex entered and scanned the room. He turned and smiled at Bruce.

"So Bruce, I thought you'd be home by now."

"Well you know I underestimated the drawing power of your hometown, thirsty," asked Bruce pulling out a bottled water.

"Really, because I spoke with Lucius and he was very concerned, said that you were needed back in Gotham."

"What do you care Lex?"

"I'm just concerned. Just because I turned you down, doesn't mean we cant be friends."

"Look Lex this is really touching, but I'm busy."

"Listen Bruce I don't know why you're still here but I do know you aren't here to enjoy the scenery."

"Like I said I'm busy," said Bruce opening the door.

"Just be careful Bruce, this is a rough city, I wouldn't want you to get hurt."

"Don't worry about me," said Bruce glaring as Lex exited.

Chloe waited patiently at the table. She glanced around the restaurant. It was very nice. She felt uncomfortable, but this is where Bruce had wanted to meet. It was 8:35, he was five minutes late. As she looked up from her watch, Bruce was sitting down.

"Sorry I'm late, business," he said pulling out his seat.

"It's fine," she said nervously.

"So Chloe you're a journalism major, how did you get into that?"

"I don't know, I guess knowing the truth is important to me. I am of the belief that people deserve to know the truth, no matter what."

"I couldn't agree more."

"So Bruce where did you go for eleven years," Chloe asked casually.

"Chloe I told you I wasn't going to answer any questions about my past. I'll answer questions about my future"

"Okay what does the future hold for Bruce Wayne?"  
"I'm not sure, I guess I just want to make a difference. Show the people of Gotham that they can have hope, that there is still something worth fighting for."

"How are planning on doing that?"

"With my company of course. I have a lot of influence you know."

"I see. So do you think that you'll be successful?"

"I'll never stop fighting, I know that."

"Let's change gears. Is there any lover interests on the horizon. You've been linked to supermodels, actresses, but you always deny it."

"Right now I am totally focused on helping the citizens of Gotham and Wayne Enterprises. But you never know I guess, someone might come along."

Chloe blushed at this remark. She stared at Bruce for a moment. Trying to get a read on him. She could tell he was holding a lot of pain in. That the person he presented to her and to the public wasn't the real one.

"One more question. What scares you?"

Bruce considered this question for a moment. It was one that had haunted him his whole life. He sighed.

"Nothing. I over came my fears a long time ago," he said finally.

"Come on, everybody is afraid of something."

"Not me."

Outside Lex's men sat in a van, listening to every word of the conversation.

Clark sat in his loft, gazing at the stars. He was concerned about Chloe, mainly because he thought Bruce could get her in trouble. Lois came up behind him.

"Hey, hey, Smallville!"

Clark whipped around.

"Hey."

"So," she said sitting down, "What do you think of Bruce?"

"I don't know. He seems okay I guess."

"He is so mysterious, you know Chloe was researching him long before he came here. She was really fascinated with him. It was almost like she knew he was coming here."

"Yeah, you're right, oh know," Clark rose, "I gotta go."

"Whoa wait, Clark," but he was already out the barn door.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 8

Bruce knew something wasn't right. He saw the van down the street. 'Subtle Lex, real subtle.'

"Chloe it's been great, it really has, but I have to go."

Chloe looked at him knowingly.

"You aren't parked far from here are you?"

"No," she said smiling.

Clark waited for the two to part, then approached her.

"Clark what are you doing here?"

"You've been in contact with Bruce before he got here haven't you," Clark asked sternly.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Chloe denied.

"Oh really, because Lois mentioned how extensively you have been researching him, and now he just agrees to have dinner with you."

"Are you jealous, Clark."

"No, I'm not jealous. I just don't want you getting to mixed up with him, he's dangerous."

"Don't worry about me Clark," said Chloe as she stormed away.

Bruce looked out onto the city of Metropolis. The architecture was very different from that of Gotham City. It was much more modern and smooth. Yet the same kind of corruption still existed. Not to the extent it was in Gotham, but it was there.

He had let Lex's people follow him to Suicide Slums, he was planning on patrolling a little tonight but Lex apparently had other plans. He made his way across to the next building. He saw Kirby standing idly on the street corner. Kirby worked for Lawrence Edge, and would know where the next shipment was coming in. They moved around.

As Kirby turned to head back into the tenement, Bruce dropped a cord trapping his foot and pulling him up to Bruce. Kirby screamed the whole way up. Bruce could see the fear in his eyes as they met.

"Where is the next shipment coming in!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Kirby in a panicked voice.

"Really," said Bruce letting some of the slack go on the cord and watching him drop.

Bruce pulled Kirby back up, more violently this time.

"Are you ready to talk? Where is the next shipment that Edge brings in for Lex Luthor coming in," Bruce asked in his most menacing voice.

"I don't know, I hear something about the east side pier, that's it. Who the hell are you."

"You're worst nightmare."

Clark watched from the adjacent building in horror, as Bruce interrogated this guy, then was even more stunned when he dropped him again, this time releasing him with a thud.

Clark leapt over to Bruce.

"What was that?"

"You never stop do you," said Bruce removing his mask.

"You could have killed that guy."

"Please, the only thing that could have killed him was a coronary. I was just scaring him."

"I've noticed that about you, you like to scare people."

"Fear is a powerful weapon Clark. I need it . I don't have the advantages you have."

"You're nothing more than a vigilante."

"It's more than I can say for you. You have all these amazing gifts. You could be helping so many people, doing so much good. Instead you're living on a farm going to Central Kansas A and M. I may be a vigilante, but you're a coward."

Clark was stung by this comment.

"Did you contact Chloe before you came here."

"Yeah I did. In my investigation I came across some of her stuff. Thought she could be useful. So I called her and she told me everything she knew about Lex."

"So you were using her. This whole time you've been acting."

"Clark I care about Chloe. We've both been acting. So Lex wouldn't catch on to us."

"Well I think he is because his men are waiting, a block from your car."

"I know."

"What did you want with that guy anyway?"

"I wanted to know when Lex was bringing in his next shipment," said Bruce walking away.

"Let me talk to Lex, maybe I can convince him to stop."

"No you can't. Lex won't stop. Clark I didn't just come here to stop Lex, I came here to see if he was any different. To see if there was any good left in him."

"And you don't think there is," said Clark running next to Bruce.

"There might be, but it isn't going to prevail in this situation. I have no choice, if I thought talking to him would work, I would have. Good bye Clark," Bruce said shooting his grapple gun to a nearby building and swinging away.

"Mr. Luthor, we lost him."

"How did you lose him," Lex asked angrily.

"He drove into Suicide Slums and then got out and headed into some abandoned apartment, so we followed him in and he wasn't there."

"Did he come out?"

"We uh, we don't know, there was some sort of explosion around the van and when we got out his car was gone and the van wouldn't start."

"That's just great, thank you."

Lex hung up the phone. He knew Bruce was involved some how.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 10

Clark stormed into Lex's study.

"Clark, listen…"

"No Lex, you don't need to explain. I don't want anymore explanations. I don't need them. I can't handle them. I just wish I knew what happened. When did you become this person?"

"Clark I'm the same person I've always been."

"Oh really, then why are you associating with mobsters, brining in secret shipments of meteor rock. Chloe could have been killed. Lex to me there's two kinds of people, people like Bruce who take all the horrible dark things they've seen and use them, to help people and do good. And then there's people like you. Your past is no excuse for you to throw away your future."

"Clark those shipments, were for agricultural purposes and that was the last one. I'm not the monster you make me out to be."

"Really, you call those guys who attacked my house agricultural. Lex, I don't know who that guy was or why he let you go, but the way I see it he gave you a second chance. Sort of like I did that day by the river. The question is what are you gonna do with it."

Clark turned to go.

"Clark, you really don't have any idea who that was."

"No."

Chloe observed the people around her. It was an idyllic fall day. They had no idea what was going on in this city. Bruce approached and smiled at her.

"You shouldn't have followed me."

"A good reporter does anything to get her story."

"Still though, you're gonna get hurt one of these days," he said sitting.

"I'll be careful. So it looks like you were successful. The police are gonna be guarding the river twice as tight as they did before. And Edge is behind bars. But lex…"

"Yeah I know. Clark told you what happened," Chloe nodded, " Edge isn't talking, go figure, I just didn't want to destroy him yet. He can still be saved."

"Maybe. So what are you gonna do now."

"Go back to Gotham."

"Oh."

"Yeah. I really appreciate your help Chloe."

Bruce rose as did Chloe.

"I'm gonna miss you," she said tentatively.

"I'll miss you too. Take care of Clark, he needs you," Clark leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, "I was serious, if you ever need anything, call me."

The sun was setting on the Kent farm. Clark watched it as he had so many times before.

"Clark."

Clark turned and looked at Bruce.

"Hi."

"Interesting night," said Bruce moving next to Clark.

"Yeah, I read in the paper where Edge isn't talking, looks like Lex is off the hook. Thank you for letting him go."

"It was nothing. I don't like Lex, or what he stands for, but I know that you two have history and you can still help him. I guess I also did it because I don't think Lex is gone yet and I don't need to get him to validate what I've been doing. If he's gonna be brought down it's going to be by himself, not someone else."

The two stood in silence for a moment. The sun was sinking farther below the horizon.

"Clark, I wanted to apologize to you too. I said some things the other night in the slums that weren't true. I couldn't have gotten Edge if you hadn't been there, and well, I was wrong."

"Not really," said Clark glancing over to Bruce, "There is a lot more I could be doing with my powers. I just haven't figured out what that is yet. Any advice?"

"No, because I haven't figured out what I'm doing yet either."

"What, are you serious?"

"You sound surprised, why do you think I'm here. Yeah, I came because of Lex, but quite honestly ever since I got back from I've been lost. I go out around Gotham at night, patrolling, stopping muggings, but it isn't enough. Something's missing. I just don't know what. So I came here. I got away from my problem as always. I just felt like I needed to accomplish something on a larger scale. It's just so much harder in Gotham. There aren't many good people left there."

"You'll figure it out. We both will," said Clark reassuringly.

"I suppose so," the loft of the barn was now dark mostly, the two figures were silhouetted against the loft window, " I guess the only thing I could tell you is that whatever you do it can't be about yourself or you're no better than those you're fighting against. When I first started out all I wanted was revenge. I was in so much pain, and had so much anger from what happened, when I trained and helped people it was only because it took some of the pain away. The one thing I've learned is that this journey I've taken, it's bigger than me, than anything. For people like you and me, justice isn't about revenge . It's about sacrificing ourselves for what's right, for the truth."

"So what now?"

"Back to Gotham, It isn't beyond saving, not yet. Well take it easy Clark."

"Bruce, you said Lex is dangerous in more ways than one, what did you mean."

"I asked Lex if there was any women in his life, he said no but he was on the look out. When I met Lana I well… let's just say she's Lex's type."

"You think he'd…"

"I wouldn't put it past him, just hang on to her. I don't know what it's like to be close to anyone or anything. I would have loved to have that. It's just hard having it both ways. Take care of Chloe and Lois too, they both really love you."

Clark was slightly taken aback.

"I will."

"Goodbye Clark," said Bruce as he started down the stairs.

"Bruce, uh Lana mentioned something to me about bats, maybe there's something there. Just a thought," said Clark turning to look out towards the night.

"Maybe, and I just want you to know you're secrets safe with me."

Clark turned back but he was gone.

"So is yours."


End file.
